I love Christmas. Seriously, I pretty much AM the Spirit of Christmas. I wear the santa hats, I put my Christmas tree up on the December 1st and refuse to take it down until March. I love the Christmas carols. Don’t invite me into your secret santa. I will cheat and buy everyone gifts.…but let’s be honest here folks…

THE THING I LOVE MOST ABOUT CHRISTMAS IS THE PRESENTS!

“Um, it’s actually about Christ. For unto us a child is born.”

Don’t give me that, I know you love the gifts too. We all do.

So here's a question worth pondering:

WHAT WOULD CHRISTMAS BE LIKE IF YOU OPENED YOUR GIFTS BEFORE THE 25TH?

Picture it - what if your presents were purchased and wrapped way ahead of time (by a person who doesn't exist because no one is that organised) and you decided to open them early. You’d still have some cool stuff on Christmas day - you’d have the decorations, and the food - but let’s not kid ourselves here - it would be totally depressing to wake up and have no gifts to unwrap. Opening and exchanging gifts with each other is what SETS CHRISTMAS APART from any other day of the year! In fact, the whole day STARTS with presents - it’s the first thing you do right?! It motivates you (or maybe just me and all the other 5 year olds) to get up at 5am in anticipation and excitement.

Gifts are what make Christmas special. You take out the presents … you take out the fun! So why am I talking about Christmas when I promised to write about sex? Sorry I’ll get to the point:

SEX IS A GIFT TO YOUR PARTNER!

Perhaps if we esteemed it this way, we would be more motivated about “not opening our gifts before Christmas”. I know a lot of us have heard this phrase before and it can get a little old ... I can feel you rolling your eyes…but let me unwrap it for you (pun intended. Had to do it. #sorrynotsorry)

Your marriage has been cleverly designed to START with exchanging the greatest gift ever - and oh the JOY of giving that gift and the JOY of receiving it! *insert winking emoji*

There’s so many great elements to marriage - the companionship, the support, the fact that you get to have sleepovers with your bestie every night - but let me tell you as a married person that the BEST part about marriage is THAT GIFT! The gift that sets it apart from every other relationship I have - the gift of sex!

It’s a gift that was PURCHASED FOR A PURPOSE

Sex and your body are a gift, to be revealed and received on a special occasion. The purpose was to give them as a gift to your One and Only. (With one name on the tag on it if you know what I’m sayin’)

Here’s what the bible says about sex:

/// 1 cor 6:16-20 ///

There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, “The two become one.” Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never “become one.”

ALL THINGS VALUABLE NEED TO BE PROTECTED

In fact, the very existence of protection around something communicates it’s value.

Think about it this way: we don’t plonk our gifts under the tree, unwrapped and exposed, and stare at them until Christmas day. We HIDE them. We wrap them in festive paper (maybe put a bow on it if we’ve been inspired by Pinterest). And we keep it a secret until that special day arrives.

The function of wrapping paper is to festively cover up the gift within!

Sex is the ultimate gift of self and intimacy you can give one person - so wrap it up,cover it, hide it, clothe it, protect it with the wrapping of your biblical principles and values.

The principles that say:

“My virginity is valuable”

“My body belongs to one person, not many”

“I’m not going to let my feelings rule my faith”

“I’m not going to let my sex drive dictate my decisions”

“I’m not going to compromise for a crush”

If you make the decision, ladies and gents, to recognise how valuable and sacred your sexuality is, than you will put some boundaries in place to say uh-uh - you do not get an all-access part to me. So:

Do not rob both your future partner, and yourself, of being able to give this awesome gift. If you’re struggling to keep your hands off the presents - it’s cool, you’re only human - just stay away from the tree! (Aka: put some boundaries in for yourself!) Because until you’ve put a ring on it & said I do, that could be somebody else’s gift you’re unwrapping there, buddy.

Keep your wrapping paper on - it’s a beautiful, decorative celebration of the gift within that one day you will give to somebody special. Keep it beautifully hidden beneath your boundaries, self-respect and love for God.

Put one name tag on your gift...

And when the one who has promised to lay their life down for you and love you all their days this side of eternity - inside the protective and sacred bounds of marriage - write their name on the tag. That is the only person who deserves to receive such an infinitely sacred gift.

/// PROVERBS 31 : 25 ///

"Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come."

It's ok. In fact, it's more than ok. There is nothing Jesus cannot restore, redeem, and re-wrap. The very definition of redemption is to restore back what has been lost - via payment.

Jesus has paid the (costly) price for you to be RE-WRAPPED

All it takes is a heartfelt prayer for a fresh start:

/// PSALM 51 : 7-15 ///

"Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing.Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health.God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life."

He will mercifully return what has been lost or given away. He will tenderly re-wrap what has been exposed or made vulnerable. He will take your hand and help you re-write a story of regret into one of redemption. Now THAT is the best gift of all.